£4.9 million invested in Scotland

US tech firm Xilinx Inc. is to invest £3.8 million in its specialist research centre in Edinburgh, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed today.

The centre will also be supported by a £1.01 million research and development grant through Scottish Enterprise, creating 12 new jobs and protecting 30 existing jobs.

Xilinx Scotland will develop technologies for communications applications, specifically targeting 5G opportunities and aims to establish itself as a centre of excellence and a leading developer of new products for future communications systems.

Welcoming the announcement ahead of a week of engagements in the United States, the First Minister said:

“The USA is Scotland’s top source of inward investment and Xilinx Inc. is another example of a leading technology company harnessing our highly educated and skilled workforce.

“This is fantastic news for this specialist sector in Scotland with new jobs being created and existing ones protected. It also demonstrates our strength and expertise in developing these state of the art technologies.

“We are committed to building on these successes and attracting more companies to invest and expand here. That is why next week I’ll travel to the United States to promote trade and investment between our two countries.”

Dr Colin Carruthers, Director of Xilinx Scotland, said

“We are very excited to be at the centre of this truly innovative research and development. This is a unique opportunity to define and develop the technologies that will enable next generation wireless communication devices.

“Scotland has a long history of invention and innovation, and it is a privilege to be able to help architect the communication platforms of the future.”

Dr Lena Wilson, Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise, said:

“Xilinx’s success is testament to Scotland’s world leading highly educated and skilled workforce. With a strong, established and connected business environment, Scotland was the ideal UK location for the company and we are delighted to have supported such an ambitious and talented team.”

Background

Xilinx Inc. is a world leading provider and inventor of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

Get news from the First Minister’s visit to the US by following @ScotGovFM on twitter.